In this video and documentation, you’ll learn how to use the Lightning Conductor Quick Configuration to configure content aggregation from SharePoint lists & libraries, as well as Microsoft Graph content such as Planner, To Do, Teams, and OneDrive.
QUICK CONFIGURATION
If you are a Site Owner or Team Owner in Microsoft Teams, you’ll be able to configure the Lightning Conductor to aggregate content from SharePoint lists & libraries, or Microsoft 365 Graph content such as Planner, OneDrive, and Microsoft To Do.
To help get you started, the Lightning Conductor offers a Quick Configuration mode which you can use to aggregate content in just a few clicks. The Quick Configuration has pre-built configurations for many common scenarios. Even if the pre-built configurations aren’t exactly what you need, you can refine them from within the Grid View itself. If you have something very specific such as a custom list, you can define your configuration using the Advanced Mode which will be covered later within this getting started guide.
To get started with the Quick Configuration, once you have added the Lightning Conductor to your page, click Configure as shown below:
In the next few steps, we’ll explore the options available throughout the Quick Configuration:
STEP 1 – WHAT DATA DO YOU WANT TO VIEW?
Once the Quick Configuration has opened, you’ll see a few questions in order to get you the content that you want to see, starting with: “What data do you want to view?”
In the dropdown for the “What data do you want to view?” question, you’ll see some different types of lists, libraries, and Microsoft Graph entities which are described below:
- Documents – Microsoft SharePoint Document Libraries
- Tasks – Microsoft SharePoint Task Lists
- Events – Microsoft SharePoint Events Lists
- Announcements – Microsoft SharePoint Announcements Lists
- Pictures – Microsoft SharePoint Picture Libraries
- Messages – Microsoft Graph Entity which returns email messages for the current logged on user.
- Users – Microsoft Graph Entity which reaturns a list of users within your Microsoft 365 Tenant.
- Groups – Microsoft Graph Entity which returns a list of Microsoft 365 Groups within your Microsoft 365 Tenant.
- Planner Plans – Microsoft Graph Entity which returns a list of Microsoft Planner Plans that the current user is a member of and the Planner Tasks per Plan.
- Planner Tasks – Microsoft Graph Entity returning just Planner Tasks not grouped by Planner Plans.
- To Do Lists – Microsoft Graph Entity displaying your Microsoft To Do lists and tasks
- Drive Items – Returning OneDrive Items for the current user.
- Outlook Events – Microsoft Graph Entity returning a list of calendar events in Microsoft outlook for the current user.
- Other – Opens the Advanced Dialog to configure your own specific content aggregation.
The below image displays this option within the quick configuration.
In the next section, we’ll explore “How do you want to refine it?”.
STEP 2 – HOW DO YOU WANT TO REFINE IT?
You’ll find several built-in filters for each of the data sources you selected in step 1. After configuring your view of aggregated content, you will be able to modify the filters, but again, we have built some common scenarios that should help you get started.
A few of those examples are described below:
- Documents – Documents offers three options including: All Documents (No Filter), My Documents (Filter on the Created By column and showing documents that the current user created), My Checked Out Documents (Filter on the Checked Out To column that the current user has checked out).
- Tasks – Tasks also has three options including: All Tasks (No Filter), My Tasks (Tasks assigned to the current user), My Overdue Tasks (Tasks that are overdue and assigned to the current user).
- Events – All Events (No Filter), All Meetings (Type of event is meeting), All Birthdays (Type of event if Birthday).
In the next section, we’ll explore how to set the scope of your aggregated report.
STEP 3 – WHERE SHOULD THE DATA COME FROM?
In step 3, we choose the scope for the aggregation report. This option is more specific to SharePoint lists & libraries than to the Microsoft Graph entities. The SharePoint lists & libraries that you wish to aggregate from are typically store in different sites or site collections. In the Advanced Mode, you can be very specific about which sites or even which lists should be included. However, as a starting point, you can select a scope within the Quick Configuration which includes:
- Current Site – Using the object model (Real time query) – This option will aggregate from any list or library type that you specified in Step 1 from the current site only. For example, if the current site contains three document libraries, each of the document libraries will be aggregated into a single view.
- Current Site and Sub Sites – Using the object model (Real time query) – This option will aggregate from any list or library type that you specified in Step 1 from the current sit, and any child sites. For example, if the current site contains three document libraries, each of the document libraries will be aggregated into a single view, and for each site beneath the current site.
- Current Site Collection – Using the object model (Real time query) – This option will aggregate from any list or library type that you specified in Step 1 from the current site collection. For example, any document library found in any site within the current site collection will be returned.
- Current Site and Associated Sites – Using the object model (Real time query) – This option will aggregate from any list or library type that you specified in Step 1 from the current site and any associated sites.
- Current Tenant – Using the object model (Real time query) – This option will aggregate from any list or library type that you specified in Step 1 from any SharePoint site within the Microsoft 365 Tenant.
- Current Site (Search Engine) – Using the search index (High performance, cached content) – This option will aggregate from any list or library type that you specified in Step 1 from the current site only. For example, if the current site contains three document libraries, each of the document libraries will be aggregated into a single view.
- Current Site Collection (Search Engine) – Using the search index (High performance, cached content) – This option will aggregate from any list or library type that you specified in Step 1 from the current site collection. For example, any document library found in any site within the current site collection will be returned.
- Current Tenant (Search Engine)– Using the search index (High performance, cached content) – This option will aggregate from any list or library type that you specified in Step 1 from any SharePoint site within the Microsoft 365 Tenant.
In the next section, we will explore how to display your view of content.
HOW SHALL WE DISPLAY IT?
Now that you have selected the type of content to display, how to filter it, and where the data will come from, it’s time to choose how to display it. For each data type, there is a Grid View which will display the data in rows and columns. Once you have finalised your ‘Quick Configuration’ you will have the opportunity to add more columns, move the columns, and apply formatting. This is all covered in the ‘Working with the Grid View’ section. In addition to the Grid View is pre-built JSON views and Adaptive Card views. The JSON & Adaptive Card views are specific to certain types of data such as Calendars to display Events, Tile views to display Documents, and Slideshow to display Images from a Picture Library.
In this section, we will explore how to select each of those options. However, you can also find more information on them in the ‘Using Different Types of View’ section at the start of this guide.
The different types of view are described below:
- Grid View – The Grid View is not specific to any type of data source and can be used by each one. The Grid View offers a column and row format with the ability to modify the view from within the grid view itself. Modifications include Adding Columns, Moving Columns, Grouping, Filters, Sorting, Data Formatting, Conditional Formatting.
- Tiles View – The Tile View displays a thumbnail view of folders and documents.
- Calendar View – The Calendar displays a calendar format of Events, Tasks or Custom Lists with Date fields.
- Cards View – The Cards view is an adaptive card layout. Adaptive Cards can be configured within the Advanced Mode.
- Picture Preview – The Picture Preview displays a thumbnail of each image. Clicking a thumbnail image will show that specific image in a larger resolution.
- Slideshow – The slideshow view will display one image at a time allowing navigation left and right.
- Person List – The Person List will show an avatar with hover over people card for each user in the list.
- Planner View – The Planner View will show plans and tasks and is ideal for Microsoft Planner.
- Agenda View – The Agenda View will show a list of events in an agenda format
- Task View – The task view will show a list of tasks that can be interacted with for Microsoft To Do content and Planner content.
OTHER REFINEMENTS
Other refinements include the following:
- Display Avatars – Displays the users avatar next to people columns such as CreatedBy and AssignedTo
- Support Document Preview – Allows two Lightning Conductor web parts to be connected so that you can preview the selected document.
WORKING WITH THE GRID VIEW
Using the Grid View, whilst your SharePoint page is in Edit mode, you can modify the look and feel of your data for all users. The changes that you can make include rearranging column order, Adding or Removing columns, Changing Sorting & Filters, Grouping, Data Formatting, and Conditional Formatting.
Within this section, we’ll explore how to apply changes from within the Grid View.
SHOW COLUMNS
While the SharePoint page is in Edit mode, click the downward pointing arrow next to any column, and choose ‘Show Column’, and then select the column that you wish to add.
HIDE COLUMNS
While the SharePoint page is in Edit mode, click the downward pointing arrow next to the column that you wish to hide, and choose ‘Hide Column’.
CHANGING COLUMN ORDER
While the SharePoint page is in Edit mode, click the downward pointing arrow next to the column that you wish to move. Choose Column Settings, and then ‘Move Left’ or ‘Move Right’.
SORTING
While the SharePoint page is in Edit mode, click the downward pointing arrow next to the column that you wish to sort by. Choose ‘Sort Ascending’ or ‘Sort Descending’. After sorting, you can choose Clear Sorting.
FILTERS
While the SharePoint page is in Edit mode, click the downward pointing arrow next to the column that you wish to filter on, and choose Filter.
Depending on the type of column that you are filtering upon, you may see different filter options. However, you should find these to be self explanatory.
If you require a single condition, simply choose the operator such as ‘=’, and then provide the value to filter upon.
To add multiple conditions, you can click the ‘Add Condition’ button. This will enable you to filter on more than one value per column as either an ‘And’ or an ‘Or’. The below example will display Tasks that are High priority or Normal Priority.
Using the ‘Connect’ icon next to the value field, will allow you to get a value dynamically to filter upon from either the page environment, or another web part on your page such as another Lightning Conductor instance.
The below example shows getting the current users username from the environment to filter upon.
GROUP BY
While the SharePoint page is in Edit mode, click the downward pointing arrow next to the column that you wish to Group By, and choose ‘Column Settings’ and then ‘Group By’.
You can Group By more than one column by repeating the above steps for another column.
You can clear the grouping by choosing Column Settings, Group By again on the same column.
FORMATTING
Using the Formatting feature, you can apply formatting to each column either persistently or conditionally. Formatting options include:
- Color – Set the forecolor, backcolor or, pill color (pill shaped colored background).
- Align – Align the value in the column left, right, centre, or justify.
- Font – Set Bold, Italic, Underline, Overline, Strikethrough, and Size.
- Icon – Set an icon to be displayed in place of the value.
- Data Bar – Display Data Bars to represent values.
In the above example, the condition to set Data Bars was removed, so that the Data Bars would always display. However, the Pill Color, and Icons were set conditionally.
The below example shows how multiple Formatting styles can be set with conditions on a column.
MORE SETTINGS
- Alias – Replace the column header with an Alias
- Width – Set a fixed width for the column
- Max Width – Set a maximum width for the column
- Display – Choose whether to display the column (this is useful when combined with grouping on the column so that the column only shows as the group header).
- Summary – Add a summary function (See Summary Functions in the Advanced Configuration)
- Sortable – Enables or Disables the ability to sort by this column for end users.
- Filterable – Enables or Disables the ability to filter on this column as an end user.
- MultiLine – Allows multiple lines of text when required.
- Collapsible – Can collapse the column when it expands to more than one row.
- Resizable – Can resize the column
- Allow HTML – If the column contains HTML, render the HTML
- Header Align – Align the column header
- Detect Emails/URLs – Create hyperlinks from any URL in the column value.
- Custom Formatting – Apply JSON formatting yourself (Can copy paste from standard SharePoint list).